[Ansteorra] Social Status
Susan
catmafia at hughes.net
Sat Sep 30 17:41:55 PDT 2006
Thanks to you both, this makes it make so much more sense.
Susan
James Crouchet wrote:
>Diane Rudin wrote:
>
>
>>That depends on when and where you are. Not all countries practiced
>>primogeniture (giving everything to the firstborn, the rest are out
>>of luck). For example and *in general*, England practiced
>>primogeniture and France did not. The second son of the second son
>>of a Baron in England learned a trade (although he wouldn't end up as
>>a peasant; he'd still be gentry). The second son of the second son
>>of a Baron in France was still a nobleman and a leech on society. :)
>>
>>
>>
>Under French feudalism all those extra sons of sons were necessary to
>fill out the ranks of the military so nobility who went into other
>professions were not doing their primary duties. The French did not much
>trust commoners with weapons, especially powerful weapons like bows and
>swords. These attitudes persisted long after feudalism had effectively
>ended and most of the nobility ceased to be interested in actual
>soldering. For instance, learning a trade or "engaging in gross
>commerce" was grounds for removal from the nobility. Soldiering and
>being in the church did not violate that, nor apparently did having
>"interests" in certain financial activities.
>
>If you think about it you can see how these attitudes affected many
>aspects of French history. For instance, their reluctance to trust
>commoners with powerful weapons had a significant effect on battles like
>Crécy and Agincourt.
>
>France also seemed to be more flexible about who inherited, stood as
>regent or held power until a more suitable heir could be found. I
>imagine that was affected by the fact that "France" was composed of
>several different geo-political entities.
>
>Christian Doré
>
>
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